Morning Grace

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, * 
  ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
 worship the Lord in holy splendor. 
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
  the God of glory thunders,
 the Lord, over mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful;
 the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.    The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
 the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.    He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.  
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. 
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;  the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  
The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, * 
and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, ‘Glory!’  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever. 
May the Lord give strength to his people!
 May...

But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,  to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,  until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.  We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming.  But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,  from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. ~ Ephesians 4:7,11-16 There's truths you have to grow into. ~ HG Wells For those of us who a...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Isaiah 33:17-22 Luke 1:1-4 Genesis 8:1-12 I Kings 10:1-13 & John 4:25-42 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, (fame due to  the name of the Lord), she came to test him with hard questions. She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing hidden from the king that he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba had observed all the wisdom of Solomon, the house that he had built, the food of his table, the seating of his officials, and the attendance of his servants, their clothing, his valets, and his burnt-offerings that he offered at the house of the Lord, there was no more spirit in her.  So she said to the king, ‘The report was true that I heard in my own land of your accomplishments and of your wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. Not even half had been to...

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic animals that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided; the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, the rain from the heavens was restrained, and the waters gradually receded from the earth. At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated; and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to abate until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared. At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made  and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.   Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;    but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it...

Since many have undertaken to set down an orderly account of the events that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed on to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, I too decided, after investigating everything carefully from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the truth concerning the things about which you have been instructed. ~ Luke 1:1-4 "The truth," Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution." ~ JK Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone How do you convey Truth? Luke, by accounts a physician and by writing a historian, is the only one of the gospel writers to include an introduction to his audience about his stated purpose.  As to who Theophilus (or God-beloved) is, that is one of many unknowns from the gospels.  He may have been one person or he may have ...

Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will behold a land that stretches far away. Your mind will muse on the terror: "Where is the one who counted? Where is the one who weighed the tribute? Where is the one who counted the towers?" No longer will you see the insolent people, the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend, stammering in a language that you cannot understand. Look on Zion, the city of our appointed festivals! Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, an immovable tent, whose stakes will never be pulled up, and none of whose ropes will be broken. But there the Lord in majesty will be for us a place of broad rivers and streams, where no galley with oars can go, nor stately ship can pass. For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us. ~ Isaiah 33:17-22 Reading seeks for sweetness of a blessed life, meditation perceives it, prayer asks for it, contemplation tastes it. ...

- Re-read the passages from this week's devotions. Choose the one that is most meaningful to you to be your prayer focus for today. They are: Zechariah 7:1-14 Acts 24:10-23 Job 21:1, 17-34 2 Samuel 2:10-12 - Read the passage again and identify a word or phrases that jump out at you. - Read the passage again, and if possible read from a different translation ( biblegateway.com  has many translations you can choose from). Identify where this passage might be touching your life today. How is this relevant to your life? - Read the passage a third time, again in a different translation if possible. Ask yourself what God is calling you to do or to be from this passage. What change might God be moving your toward? - Close with a silent prayer, listening to God rather than speaking to God. What actions will you take today based on this prayer? - Recite the Lord's Prayer.

Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David.  The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.  So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established. ~ 2 Samuel 2:10-12 I think all things, in their way, reflect heavenly truth, the imagination not least. ~ CS Lewis Seven years ago, I went to Dallas to visit my best friend from high school. I hadn't seen her in years so was excited for the trip. As it happened, I was in Dallas on 11/22/13 - a day observed by the city (and the nation) as the 50th anniversary of one of our darkest national memories: the day John F. Kennedy, Jr. was assassinated in Dallas.  The weather that day seemed intent to identify with the day itself: it was cold and rainy and miserable.  So, we didn't spend much time outside - and felt for those souls who did choose to mark the occasion out at Deal...

Then Job answered: ... "How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say, 'God stores up their iniquity for their children.' Let it be paid back to them, so that they may know it. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off? Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high? One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure, his loins full of milk and the marrow of his bones moist. Another dies in bitterness of soul, never having tasted of good. They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them. "Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me. For you say, 'Where is the house of the p...

When the governor motioned to him to speak, Paul replied: "I cheerfully make my defense, knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation. As you can find out, it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem. They did not find me disputing with anyone in the temple or stirring up a crowd either in the synagogues or throughout the city. Neither can they prove to you the charge that they now bring against me. But this I admit to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our ancestors, believing everything laid down according to the law or written in the prophets. I have a hope in God -- a hope that they themselves also accept -- that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. Therefore I do my best always to have a clear conscience toward God and all people. Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation and to offer sacrifices. While I was doing this, they found me ...